CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The Illinois Trucking Association handed out free masks Thursday to truck drivers across the state.
Illinois Trucking Association Executive Director Matt Hart said they obtained 50,000 masks from President Trump through the Department of Homeland Security. He said some truck drivers, like many others, have had difficulty finding masks.
"The trucking industry was working before the pandemic. We will work through the pandemic and we will work after the pandemic. We just can't say enough about the hard working men and women out there who are working to safely deliver food, groceries, medical supplies - we would be in real trouble if it wasn't for the trucking industry. There is over 300,000 men and women working in the trucking industry in Illinois and that's one out of every 16 jobs [in the state>," Hart said.
Hart said he is grateful to the President and the Department of Homeland Security for providing the masks.
“These masks will provide truck drivers with additional protection during the coronavirus pandemic while they safely deliver the groceries and medical supplies that Americans need each day," he said.
The masks are being distributed across the state by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in cooperation with the Illinois State Police and Illinois Trucking Association. The masks were handed out from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday at the Lincoln Oasis along I-80/294 and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Illinois Trucking Association office in Joliet at 2250 S. Chicago St.
Hart said drivers who were unable to make it Thursday, can still get masks from the Association's Joliet or Springfield offices for as long as they last. More information can be found at Iltrucking.org.
Companies are limited to 100 masks and they have to certify that they’ll be given to drivers.
Indiana State Police are also handing out masks to truck drivers Friday at a rest stop along I-94 in LaPorte County.